They used to call California ocean desalination a disaster. But water crisis brings new look to the desalination process
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An iceberg floats in California’s Central Valley during an ice storm on December 29, 2008. (Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“The problem with California is they think they have the problem,” said Tom Quinn, a professor at the U.C. Berkeley School of Law and author of “The Water Crisis in California.” “They only think they have the problem. It’s all they’ve got.”
The state’s population swells each year with an influx of tourists as well as the inflow of people who are moving to cities from suburbs. Nearly one-quarter of California’s population is made up of immigrants, according to a 2012 report by Pew Research Center. A larger proportion of young, single and working Californians live in cities than do the national average.
Many of these newcomers find the costs of living in these urban areas prohibitive without taking on additional debt to buy a house, Quinn said. With so many young and working people moving to town, they often don’t have the time to drive anywhere.
In fact, California has seen a rise in people driving across the country to work in its cities and towns. In fact, the state’s traffic deaths have increased by more than 5 percent over the last 10 years, according to data from the California Highway Patrol.
The problem with California is they think they have the problem. They only think they have the problem. It’s all they’ve got.
“For many of them, driving across the state is more or less the only way they’re working, and they don’t have any other options,” Quinn said.
In an effort to save money and make it easier for people to commute from the suburbs and cities of California to their jobs, some cities have begun to offer transit passes. The City of Stock
